The Dutchman, however, opted against trying to take the lead. "I thought it was not fair anyway with the way he was being held up," Red Bull's Verstappen told Sky F1.

"I had an opportunity but you can't overtake into Turn 10 and I didn't want to take the risk."

Romain Grosjean was handed a five-second time penalty by stewards for ignoring blue flags and failing to let Hamilton through quickly, and both Hamilton and Verstappen voiced their discontent at the time over team radio.

"These guys are crazy," Hamilton said, while a raging Verstappen asked: "What the f*** are they doing?"

HAMILTON: MAX MISSED OPPORTUNITY

Speaking in the post-race press conference, Hamilton admitted the only time he feared he wouldn't take victory was when the backmarkers interfered.

"It definitely got a little bit interesting towards the end with some of the backmarkers, which was extremely difficult," he explained.

The Englishman, who has extended his championship advantage to 40 points, turned to Verstappen and added: "You had an opportunity, really.

"I had to put up a massive defence and even then I was racing the backmarkers - they still weren't lifting off as I was alongside them."